Escaping Reality
by Moonlight Blizzard
Summary: Captivated Series #1. Zach Goode had been a COC prisoner for as long as he could remember. When he got a new certain cellmate, would he try to go against all odds to finally have his freedom? Or would he simply give up, admitting that the reality is impossible to escape from? Rated T for possible violence. Disclaimer: consider story disclaimed!
1. Chapter 1

**Escaping Reality**

**Chapter 1**

**[AN : Please visit my blog at ****moonlight-blizzard. blogspot. com****. (please search it via Google… You know links never work here…) My sister and I made it (*w*)**

**This chapter is dedicated to Lizaluvsdoggies, as a birthday present. Happy Sweet 17! GBU always!]**

Mary Santiago sat in the dark, dank cell, waiting for him to return.

She had been an established CIA agent, had a perfect life with her perfect family, and had almost everything a 43-years-old woman could ever want. Career, money, family.

Until that fateful day.

It was a simple mistake, really. She had simply dropped her knife on a motion-triggered laser, and BAM! She had lost everything. In a mere 5 minutes.

The Circle made sure that she learned her lesson. As well as everyone else in the prison (roughly 150 prisoners).

She had been in that cell for 9 months, working hard to survive.

The Circle of Cavan had a special prison in Brazil. Every prisoner there had been broken. Secrets told, oath broken, etcetera. But in the Circle knew no mercy. There would be no killing. The 'used' prisoners would be sent to this prison, where they would work to grow coffee.

Yes, coffee, of all things.

She guessed coffee was a mandatory beverage for the Circle's agents, seeing as they work until late at night, every single day. How else they could keep the robot-like work with almost no sleep?

These past 9 months had been so hard. She was sure her physical appearance had been heavily deformed. Her clothes hung loosely, her skin was tight over her bones. Now, they didn't exactly starve the prisoners, but the meals were barely enough to last the hard labor.

9 months.

She had barely survived 9 months.

She really couldn't imagine surviving this life for 9 years.

~*:*:*:*~

Zachary Goode was the son of a high-ranking Circle agent.

Everyone knew that.

The Brazilian prisoners also knew that he had been brought up by said agent, Catherine Goode, to be the best Circle agent ever known to the world. He was Catherine's pride and joy.

Key word: _was_.

No one knew what happened to him. What made him hated his mother and his former life so much. Maybe she was too strict on him. Maybe he still had some humanity. Maybe her mother couldn't really change his pure nature.

But one day, shortly after his mother took him on his first kill, he had ran away from home.

Needless to say, he got caught, being only 8 at that time.

And ever since then, he had been a prisoner at the infamous prison, treated as an example. That no one, not even the son of the infamous Catherine Goode, could betray the Circle and got away with it. That the Circle had no mercy for traitors.

It had been 9 years ago.

~*:*:*:*~

When Mary heard the footsteps, she sat upright.

The heavy metal door banged open, and a skinny boy was thrown inside. He groaned as his head cracked against the floor, re-opening an old wound.

Mary hurried to the boy's side, lifting him gently to her lap. She caressed the dark hair, combing the tangled hair with her fingers. That was hard, seeing as his hair was matted with dried blood.

Over the past 9 months, she had known some things about Zach Goode, being his cellmate. She knew that every month, the Circle would 'punish' him over again. And over the time, she had grown a motherly love for the boy.

"Anything broken?" she asked gently.

Zach opened his emerald green eyes painfully, and muttered, "No."

Mary had had a 5 year-old son, and she remembered that her son's eyes were always bright with mischief, carefree and happy.

Zach's eyes were nothing like that. They were clouded with pain and misery. It made him looked much older than his actual age. She wondered absentmindedly, where Zach had obviously never been a carefree boy, when was the last time he had been happy?

Mary quickly did an once-over check on him. He was right, nothing looked broken. But there were countless bruises and cuts, and some were still bleeding. On his request, she helped him roll onto his stomach.

She took a deep breath as she studied the long gashes on his back. Whip marks.

Knowing the Circle, she didn't worry about infection. The Circle always drenched their victims in alcohol, preventing infection and hurting them at the same time.

Mary shuddered, remembering the burning sensation on her skin when her torturers had applied alcohol on the bleeding cut on her leg, once upon a time. She had nearly blacked out from the pain. It was no small wander Zach had been able to hang on, with that many cuts on his back.

As sad as it sounds, she guessed he was used to it.

~*:*:*:*~

After breakfast, everyone was herded to the plantation. Another long day at work.

It was harvest time, and everyone was given a basket, with strict orders to fill it up before sunset. Or else. Of course, no one thought of disobeying, much less stealing the coffee beans. The punishment really wasn't worth it.

Mary helped Zach as he limped out. He was still weak from his recent torture.

A man about 40 helped her, and together they dragged Zach under a tree, letting him rest.

Thankfully, almost all of the prisoners were fond of him. They used to help him with his work when he was too weak to do it. Like now.

The prisoners had an informal agreement; whenever one (or some) of them was unfit to work they would give a handful of coffee beans his/her basket. With more than 100 people giving a handful each, it would be enough to fill the basket.

So Mary didn't worry about her 'son'. Knowing that by the end of the day, Zach's basket would be as full as anyone else's.

~*:*:*:*~

Zach sighed heavily.

He really hated the feeling. He felt so… helpless. So useless. He didn't like it when everyone was helping him like now. But there was no way around it. He was barely able to sit up straight, much less running around the plantation, picking the ripe coffee beans.

So he leaned his head back against the tree Mary had left him under. There were some non-coffee trees around the plantation, thankfully, so he didn't have to lie under the baking sun.

He watched as birds fly over, wondering wistfully what it would feel like, to be so free. Free to go anywhere he wanted. He had never known that feeling, and, at this point, he had believed that he never would.

Because, who could take him out of this place? He was completely incapable of escaping on his own, he knew that. Heck, he was already so weak from years of torment.

He sighed again, closing his eyes.

At least he wasn't stuck in the dungeons, like some really unfortunate people, he thought, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his skin, the gentle breeze playing with his hair.

Yeah, he was as lucky as can be.

~*:*:*:*~

Mary silently snuck some of her food to Zach's plate, knowing that he needed it more than she did.

Zach sighed again, repressing his complaints. He seriously hated owing other people. And unfortunately, he owed everyone here (not the Circle agents, though) a great deal. They always told him not to worry about it. He knew they pitied him.

He hated being pitied, too.

Basically, he hated everything about his situation.

But he didn't say anything but 'thank you' to Mary, knowing if he argued, he would lose the argument anyways. It had happened a lot before.

The guards came, and roughly herded everyone back into their cells. Mary took Zach's arm and together, they walked obediently into their cell.

~*:*:*:*~

Zach glanced at Mary's sleeping from the corner of his eye. She wasn't his mother, but she was the only mother he knew. Catherine was never a good mother. She fulfilled his needs, yes, but that was it. She never cared for him. She only cared to use him as her tool.

Just another one of her pawns.

Is it so hard to understand why he'd hated her with burning passion?

Even though, he kind of regretted running away, but he really couldn't stand being near her. He couldn't stand being forced to do something he really didn't want to do.

His memories of his life before was pretty blurred. He only remembered bits of his old life. All painful memories. His devil of a mother, hitting him, not allowing him to go out of the house and play with other kids, and pushing him into _that_ room, handing him a gun, and beat him until he pulled the trigger.

He remembered that night, clear as bell.

He remembered that he was just finishing his dinner, alone in his room, making his homework, when she walked in, and told him to follow her. Zach had learned to do exactly as he was told, so he did.

She drove him to a Circle base, and took him downstairs, towards the basement. He remembered walking along the freakingly clean white corridors, into an equally clean room.

A man was chained to the wall, obviously a prisoner.

"Zach," Catherine cooed, "shoot him."

She handed him her silver gun, and he took it hesitantly, hoping his mother wouldn't notice his trembling hands. Weakness wasn't an option.

He raised the gun, recalling the days he'd spent in a training room, shooting bull's eyes at the red dots. But this wasn't a wooden board. This was a man. A life.

No matter how hard he pushed himself, he couldn't find it in him to pull the trigger. She had persuaded him, gently at first, but she was quickly losing her patience. Catherine grabbed the gun from his little hands, and slammed the butt against his cheek, sending Zach spiraling across the floor.

Blood splattered, staining the white.

She kicked his stomach multiple times, and he couldn't help himself, he threw up. Catherine had screeched in disgust, yelling at him to shoot the man. When he still wouldn't do it, she pulled out a whip, and started slapping him with it.

Soon enough, Zach had lain in a pool of blood and bile, writhing in pain.

The man had watched the events in front of him, pity clear in his eyes. Finally, he called out for him to shoot. Just shoot, he'd said.

Catherine smirked, and pulled Zach up. She pressed the gun back into his hand, and turned him towards the man.

Zach stared into the man's blue eyes. The man seemed to send him a message. It was as if he was telling him it's okay to shoot. That death is mercy. That Zach was just helping him.

So he'd pulled the trigger, and watched as the man fell to the floor, lifeless.

To say the experience was traumatic was an understatement.

~*:*:*:*~

Zach had been quiet afterwards, keeping his thoughts and emotions in. He was honestly shaken, but he knew he couldn't show that. So he'd keep it all inside. In despair, he'd planned to run away. To escape his life.

To end this, for good.

The plan was flawless, really. Or as flawless as an 8-years-old mind could make up. But of course, despite the exceptional training Zach had gotten, he wasn't good enough. He hadn't got enough training, enough experience. He'd tried to pull off something even a highly trained operative wouldn't be able to do.

So why'd he done it? For simple reasons, really. Later, he'd defined his motive as fool's hope and desperation. And the five minutes of freedom really wasn't worth the pain he had to endure.

He remembered the terror that overwhelmed him as her mother's goons had dragged him back to that accursed place. He remembered being paralyzed with fear as the eyes identical of his own had stared at him coldly, and ordered the guards to take him to the torture chamber.

He remembered screaming and writhing in pain for days. He remembered sitting limply, chained to a chair, in a pool of his own blood. He remembered wishing he was never born as they'd doused him with alcohol for the first time. He remembered being knocked unconscious, and somehow, they'd transferred him from USA to Brazil.

He remembered how, every month, he had to go through the same thing over and over again.

Despite the hot, humid air, Zach shivered, pulling the thin fabric they'd given him as a blanket tighter over him. He went to a corner, and curled up against it, imagining comforting hands emerge from the wall and hugged him, protecting him.

Sometimes Zach wondered if he'd lost his mind. He often imagined bizarre things, things that wouldn't make sense to normal, sane, people, he knew. He wouldn't be surprised if he had gone crazy. In fact, he was surprised he was able to hang on this long.

But sometimes, his imagination was the only thing that could brighten up his black days. Like the hands he imagined the walls have, where he drew the slightest comfort from. What else could comfort him, but himself?

He really hated his pathetic life.

~*:*:*:*~

Mary woke up, slightly disoriented. She stirred slightly, wondering what had woken her up. She could have sworn she'd heard something, but it was dead silent.

There. The slight noise. Mary quickly sat up, alert. She glanced around, and saw Zach sleeping on a corner. She turned to the door, and wondered if someone was outside. But if there was anyone outside, she wouldn't hear a thing. She'd known for a fact that the cells were soundproof. So the only logical source of the sound was Zach.

She scooted closer, worried she'll wake him up, but he was sound asleep.

She took in his expression, and heard that sound again. A low whimper. She sighed. Of course, it was Zach having a nightmare. He'd never had a screaming nightmare before, instead he would whimper.

Even if she hadn't been on the field for a while, her senses are still keen. Of course she would be woken up by the slightest noise. But in a way, she was glad she'd woken up.

She shook Zach slightly, calling his name. "Zach…"

When he still wouldn't wake, she shook him harder. "ZACH!"

He jolted awake, eyes wide with fear. He took one look around, and burst into tears.

"Oh, sweetie," Mary murmured as she held him close. "It's okay… It's just a dream… You're okay… Zach, you're okay."

What she really wanted to say was the phrase 'you're safe'. But that would be a lie. At times like this, she really couldn't help herself. She wanted to burst through the doors and marched into Catherine Goode's office, and shot her down for what she'd done to her son.

It was completely unrealistic, she knew, but blame her motherly instincts that hated to see her baby got hurt.

Finally, Zach's sobs died down, and he looked up at her with big, teary eyes. "S-Sorry…"

"It's okay," she responded automatically, pulling him closer. "Want to talk about it?"

Zach was silent for a long time, before he explained in a small voice. "_S-She_ was taking me to th-that room… to that man… I w-was reliving that n-night all over again…"

Mary had known the story, so she nodded sympathetically. She knew it was a big trauma for Zach. So she murmured all comforting things she could think of to him, rocking him gently.

They stayed like that for a while, before Zach slowly fell asleep.

Mary stayed up a bit longer. It was an unwise thing to do, she knew. She would need all the rest she could get in order to face the upcoming day. But she couldn't help but stay up a little late and thought of all the different scenarios related to getting Zach out of here.

Of course, everything was impossible, so soon she lay down, sleeping with her sort-of-adopted-son in her arms.

~*:*:*:*~

Catherine Goode walked down the corridors of the Circle's main headquarters in America. It was a very exclusive headquarters. Only heads of the Circle branch all over the world had access to it.

Her high heels clanked against the floor, the sharp sound cutting through the air like a gunshot. She didn't care, though. She was almost late for a very important meeting, and Catherine was _never_ late. Ever. She had a reputation to protect.

_1 minute… _She thought, as she hurried (though she was trying _not_ to look hurried) down the stairs.

_45 seconds…_ There! She burst through the doors, her calm façade plastered firmly on her expression, masking everything she was feeling. Inside, she was panting, and was mentally wiping her brows with relief. She was never late.

She sat on one of the high-backed chair, counting down the 45 seconds before the meeting would start. In her world, punctuality is number one.

Despite the 15 top agents gathered there, there were no hello's or whatever. The room was deadly silent, and everyone was assessing the people before him/her warily, knowing that the people around them was likely to turn and stab them in the back.

That was the way the Circle works. Solitarily.

_3… 2… 1… 0…_

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," Elias Crane, one of the leaders of the COC started. "As you all know, we have spent these last few years looking to Cameron Morgan, whom we believed know a vital information regarding the threat, Matthew Morgan."

No one reacted. After all, this wasn't news to them.

"I want to inform you that this morning, 9:54 a.m. in Rome, Samuel Winters had succeeded in compromising Ms. Morgan."

Everyone clapped politely, as Samuel Winters, head of the Rome base, smiled smugly. He would be getting a one-month break as a reward, and the Circle is going to fund all his vacation expenses. He was really pleased to get that reward.

Catherine raised a delicate eyebrow, impressed. Cameron Morgan, despite her young age, was a hard mark. She was a real pavement artist, and she was trained by the best. Guess no one could escape the Circle, she smiled.

Elias continued, "Catherine, you will take over Samuel's task for a moment. Charlene, you will run the American base for the time being. Leave your husband to run the Paris branch. You will interrogate Cameron, and once you're done, report to me immediately."

"Yes, Sir," Charlene and Catherine replied in unison.

Catherine silently regarded Charlene Dubois, head of the Paris branch. She seemed to be a resourceful woman, though Catherine was uncomfortable with the idea of leaving her territory in her care.

Oh, well, she thought. Orders are orders.

They discussed some other topics for a moment, before Elias ended the meeting.

Catherine stood, and walked to her car. Thankfully, she had one of her safe houses near the main headquarters, so she would be able to rest before packing for Rome.

Her mind was already formulating plans. She planned to break Cameron Morgan quick. Finish the business as soon as possible, and then return to America, and back to running her base.

A small voice in her mind whispered tempting things to her. She hadn't had a break in a long time, and Rome was a really interesting city.

She smirked. She could use a private vacation once in a while.

_When in Rome…_

~*:*:*:*~

**[AN : This is slightly OC, but, well… whatever. The Brazilian Prison is inspired by the Hunger Games' District 11, just to throw it out there.**

**Elias Crane, Charlene Dubois, and Samuel Winters are from Out of Sight, Out of Time, so clearly I don't own them, though I took the liberty to describe their personality and position…**

**Cammie will come around in the next chapter…**

**What do you think? Review?]**


	2. Chapter 2

**Escaping Reality**

**Chapter 2**

_Life sucks._

The phrase had crossed her mind numerous times, like a broken radio. She groaned again. Her whole body was sore, especially her now-raw wrists, which were tied behind her back.

Life was great until few days ago. Cameron Morgan had been a junior – soon to be senior in the coming fall – in the most prestigious spy school in the world, even if only few people actually knew that the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women _was_ a spy school and not just a boarding school for bored heiresses.

She'd had a wonderful family. Rachel Morgan, her mother, was always there for her, seeing as she was the headmistress of the Gallagher Academy. She and her roommates – which she had considered as her own sisters – was closer than ever. Rebecca Baxter, Macey McHenry, and Elizabeth Sutton. How she missed them. Her favorite – and only – aunt, Abigail Cameron, had come to be Macey's bodyguard on her junior year, and she had been with her frequently.

Most importantly, she'd had the perfect boyfriend. _Had_. He was _so_ broken up with.

She'd met Josh Abrams on a Covert Operations assignment on sophomore year, and she'd thought that he was just a civilian. They dated, and Cammie had to sneak out from her school from time to time to meet him. But she'd come to realize that a relationship with a civilian would never work, so, brokenheartedly, she'd broken up with him.

Imagine her surprise when she saw him again in Washington D.C., on another Covert Operations mission. He'd told her that he was there on a vacation, but it turned out that _he_ was her tail, and that he wasn't a civilian, but a spy-in-training, just like her.

She found out that on the first semester of the sophomore year, he was sent to do an undercover mission, and he'd posed as a civilian. Soon after, he and other students of the Blackthorne Institute for Men came to the Gallagher Academy for an exchange.

She and Josh got back together quickly enough.

But on the first semester of her junior year, trouble came. She'd thought that Macey was targeted by an international terrorist organization, the Circle of Cavan. Bex, Liz, and her had tried to protect their sister. Following Macey on the numerous trips she'd had to make, breaking countless rules, only to find that it was Cammie, not Macey, the Circle was targeting.

Things with Josh had started to get rough. They had to make do with long-distance relationship, seeing as Blackthorne and Gallagher's exchange was over, but Cammie was consoled because she'd seen Josh almost every time she left the school grounds. She had suspected that he was following her, but that night on D.C., when the Circle had attacked again, all doubts of him was lost.

She knew he'd almost got shot. That if the enemy agent hadn't run away, Josh would've died. For her.

He was immediately back on her good side.

On the beginning of the second semester, she and Bex had met him in London, and, after the whole thing happened with Mr. Solomon, they began to worry about his loyalties. But he'd quickly reassured them, again. Despite all proofs, he was innocent.

Or so she thought.

In her defense, how could she suspected him, before he revealed his true self? Her beloved boyfriend, of all people.

There aren't words to describe the betrayal she was feeling.

In Blackthorne's tombs, she'd discovered his connection to the Circle of Cavan. She'd found out that he was the nephew of the woman she feared, the woman who'd chased her for almost a year. Catherine Goode. But she still thought that he wasn't anything like his aunt, who had raised him since he was 3.

Afterwards, he'd asked her to run away with him for the summer, saying that it would be much safer for everyone else if they were out of the picture. She'd foolishly agreed, thinking about keeping her family safe, and finding answers for the questions that had plagued her since her father's disappearance.

She had even hoped for a romantic gateway.

After all, she was going on her own for the very first time, with just her boyfriend.

They'd made their escape on the first day of summer. She'd taken him through the passageways, and out they went. He'd been so sweet and supportive, and she found herself enjoying his company more than she ever should. After a while, he said that he'd found a clue on her father's whereabouts, and they had travelled to Rome. She was so full of hope, hoping to find her father, hoping to come home, hoping that Josh would ask her _the question_ and they would be official boyfriend and girlfriend.

Only to be betrayed by said unofficial-boyfriend.

He'd lead her into an ambush, and she had so foolishly trusted him. She knew better now, but unfortunately, it was too late. The only consolation she had was the promise she'd made to herself.

If she ever got out of this situation alive, she wouldn't get involved in boys again. Ever.

~*:*:*:*~

Cammie squirmed again, trying to get comfortable. By now, she had learned not to try and free her hands. The knot was impossible to be undone.

She muttered a string of curses for Josh. Curse him to the fiery pits of hell.

The door to her cell opened, and she immediately assumed her indifferent mask. However, the carefully composed expression soon turned into a snarl as she saw her tormentor.

"Speak of the devil, and devil shall appear," she snarled.

Josh smirked. "Ah, you've been talking to yourself about me? I'm flattered, honey."

Cammie sent him her best death glare. However, Josh just laughed.

"Glare at me all you want. You're stuck here anyways, and there's nothing you can do about it."

He sent her a smile that she used to swoon over, and she felt her heart clenched.

"How could you, Josh? How could you do this to me? Is all that a lie?" she asked brokenly.

The bastard just shrugged. "As a matter of fact, yes, it is. It's quite easy to do it, Cammie." He fixed her a look. "I admit, I'm a little disappointed."

"Disappointed!" she cried.

He chuckled. "Yes, Gallagher Girl."

She flinched at the old nickname.

"You see, when Aunt Cathy told me that you're the daughter of Matthew Morgan, I guess I was expecting for someone… more than you."

The words cut through her heart like a knife. She couldn't help but whisper. "You mean… I'm not good enough?"

The unspoken _'for you'_ hung in the air between them. But Josh obviously didn't care for her at all. He actually _enjoyed_ hurting her. He was so tired of pretending, it felt so good to gloat now.

Josh nodded. "Yes. You're obviously never good enough for me. For bearing the name Morgan. You're pathetic," he watched smugly as he watched how his cruel words were like a punch in her gut. "I admit, it took a great undercover skill from my part. I mean, I was so tired to pretend to like you. As if any sane boy could take an interest in you," he scoffed. "You're too plain, Cammie. Nothing special."

She'd known that. And she actually prided herself for her plain looks. She never doubted her chameleon skills with her looks, and she had thought of it as useful in her line of work. True, she'd realized that most boys would ignore her, because who would see her next to the goddess Bex, the supermodel Macey, or the pixie Liz?

But in her defense, she'd come to believe that if a boy _ever_ like her, despite her looks, it would be because of her personality. She'd believed that the boy would like her for herself, and not her body. With that belief, it had been easy for her to stand beside her sisters without any jealousy.

But now, her walls started to crumble as his words made its way into her confidence. Was he right? Was she all he'd said? After all, he'd _known_ her.

"So now, let's get to business. Where's Gillian Gallagher's list?"

She stared at him, dumfounded. _Gilly's list?_ Gilly had a list? A list of what?

"I had no idea what you're talking about."

Josh smirked. "Nice try, Cammie. But I know you know. Even if you don't realize it yourself, your father had told you about the list. No need to lie."

She kept silent. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her weak. There was no way she would give in. In a way, she was relieved she really didn't know what Josh was talking about. That way, there wasn't a chance she'll break.

Smiling smugly, she stared defiantly at him. Josh growled.

"I have no time for games, Cammie. You know, if you'll be cooperative, there's no need to hurt you. Make no mistake, Cam. Everything that had happened between us was purely act on my part. I wouldn't hesitate to torture the information out of you."

She mentally cringed. He sounded so cold, so heartless. She had to admit that he wasn't lying. She knew he meant everything he'd said. She immediately regretted the fact that she had wasted two years of her life for a complete douche.

"I don't know anything about it."

Josh eyed her. "And if you do…"

She glared at him, doing her best to save her dignity. "I still won't tell you."

Josh nodded, smirking. "I'd known that. I know how stubborn you are. Very well, Cammie. if that's your choice, I'll get the information out of you the hard way."

~*:*:*:*~

Liz groaned as she pulled out the cake. It was burnt. Again.

"Maybe you should just give up. You know, you should've learned your lesson. You nearly burned our house down last week," her little sister, Eleanor Sutton, commented from her place on the kitchen stool.

Liz shrugged, and said, "Nearly. I didn't actually burn it down. The fire really isn't _that_ bad, Ellie."

At that moment, the doorbell rang, and Ellie left her sister to answer it with an "If you say so."

Liz smiled. She loved her little sister to death. She wanted to protect Ellie from the evils of the world. But sometimes Ellie could be annoying, too. Like the time she'd made Liz lost her concentration and somehow blew up the oven.

The oven she was using was brand-new, with a three-month guarantee. Her parents had asked the saleswoman thoroughly about the guarantee, because they were certain they were going to need it. Liz was still obsessed with baking, after all.

"Liz!" Ellie called for her from the living room. "You have a guest!"

"Coming!" Liz called back, and washed her hands before dashing into the living room.

She was surprised to see her best friend's aunt sitting there, waiting for her with a solemn expression on her face.

"What's wrong, Abby?"

"Liz," she said, gravely serious. "Do you think you can come with me for a summer mission?"

Liz nodded. Truth be told, she was excited to join a mission with Abby. But the woman's expression worried her to no end.

"What's the mission?"

Abby took a deep breath. "Josh and Cammie are missing."

"_What?"_

Her tone was one of incredulity and horror. Her best friend couldn't be missing. She was too good for that. True, she had run off with her boyfriend, but they had brought a tracker with them, so Abby and Rachel could keep tabs on them. Of course, Cammie had made her mother and aunt swore not to come after her and Josh.

"What happened?" Liz asked, aghast.

Abby sighed. "We last saw the dot of her tracker on Rome, but two nights ago the dot suddenly went off. Of course, we'd tried to contact them as soon as possible, because maybe it was just a technical problem and the tracker ran out of battery or something… sorry," she added, seeing Liz's expression.

There was no way the batteries on the trackers would run out of energy. Liz had designed them herself, and she was 100% sure it would work perfectly.

"So, we tried to track them the manual way, but she just… disappeared," Abby continued. "We knew Cammie wouldn't make us worry over her for nothing, she'd known we wouldn't interrupt her. So the only explanation was she's in trouble."

Liz nodded, processing the news quickly. She felt dizzy, but she quickly pull herself together. She needed to be strong for Cammie. She would find her.

"I'll ask my parents, but I'm sure it won't be a problem."

Abby nodded, satisfied. "Good. Can you ask them now? We need to get Bex and Macey too. Then we'll go to Rome."

"Sure."

Liz darted out of the room, and almost ran to her little sister, who had apparently been listening outside the room.

Ellie looked at Liz with her big, blue, innocent eyes. "You're going?"

Liz nodded, trying to reassure her sister. "Don't worry, Ellie. I won't be gone long. I'll be back soon."

Ellie pouted. "I don't like to see you leave. Summer's just started! And you're away most of the time! Can't you stay? Please?"

Liz felt her heart ache. She knew her family had planned to spend some quality time with her this summer, and now she had to ruin their holiday plans. But Cammie needed her.

"Sorry, Ellie."

~*:*:*:*~

Cammie lay on the uncomfortable bed, trying to be still. Her whole body hurt like hell. Josh hadn't been kidding about trying to get the answer out of her the hard way. It had been almost 5 days, but of course she hadn't cracked.

How could she? When she really didn't have the information they wanted?

Apparently, being his precious _Aunt Cathy's_ little protégé, Josh had taken the task of interrogating Cammie for her, and Catherine had been enjoying her time in Rome, visiting the Coliseum.

She wanted to kill her.

Somehow, during these last few days, she'd gotten an urge to hum a strange song. She didn't realize she was humming, until Josh had pointed it out to her. From that moment on, she found herself humming the same tune over and over again, without any conscious thought.

That really freaked her out. Did that mean she was losing her mind? Hopefully not. Cammie wasn't afraid of death, but madness is another matter entirely.

Trying to get some sleep, she prepared herself for what was coming.

_It had been 4 days_, she thought_. Surely Mom and Aunt Abby noticed my lack of contact? Or the disappearance of the tracker?_

Josh had smashed them before he'd betrayed her, and that was a partly clever move. Only partly clever, though, because even though her family wouldn't know where she was, they would've noticed that the tracker no longer worked, and they would set to the last place she'd been. Thankfully, she knew she was still somewhere in Rome.

_They'll find me._

~*:*:*:*~

Catherine smiled at her nephew.

_He was so much different than…_

She quickly stopped herself. She wouldn't think of _him_. He wasn't worthy enough to be in her thoughts. His name is a taboo for her, a humiliation. How could she ever give birth to so such a worthless creature?

Yet, she couldn't help but compare Josh with him. They were so different, despite the fact that she had brought them up together since they were three.

For one, Josh was so obedient, following her every command without so much as a sigh. He had never listened to her, opting to do anything that had annoyed her the most. She would teach Josh all her skills, and he would learn enthusiastically, always wanting to please her. Whereas he was reluctant. Even though he mastered his lessons without any problem, it was clear that his heart wasn't in it.

But she was a good mother. She had tried to be patient with him. She knew he didn't believe her, but she wanted only the best for him. And joining the Circle is the best chance ever. However, he still chose to believe in all that fairytale, that the CIA is a better choice.

The CIA!

Why wouldn't he understand that the CIA is only a pathetic little group, running around like dogs doing dirty work for the government? The government was untrustworthy. Moreover, the CIA had killed his father!

But everything had an end, and one day, when he tried to _run away_ from her, her patience with him was completely gone. She decided that he was a hopeless case, and if he wanted so badly to join his beloved CIA, she would give him what he wanted and gave him the future of the CIA agents.

She'd sent him far away from her, where he would never bother her again.

Now, looking at her nephew – who had taken his place in her heart – she suddenly thought of him, and smiled.

"A tough nut, you say?" she asked, amused.

Josh nodded angrily. "Yeah. I know her. She's a whole new definition of stubborn. I don't think our current method would do any good."

She chuckled. "I don't know why, Josh, but I find my thought wandering to your cousin. I think it will be good for her to see what's going to happen if she tried my patience."

Josh frowned, thinking hard. "What are you saying?"

Catherine laughed. "I'm saying that we should send her to the Brazil headquarters, and get her acquainted with _him_. Make an example out of him, and when she was scarred enough, fetch her back and begin to interrogate her again. You know, if the physical abuse wouldn't work, we'll try the mental one…"

Catherine watched smugly as Josh processed her plan. It was simple, really. Cameron was just a girl. A naïve one, at that. It would be easy to toy with her perspective of this world, to break her innocence, just like she'd done with him.

It would be a perfect opportunity to punish that ungrateful wretch, as well. Catherine really wasn't the forgiving type.

Josh frowned. He obviously didn't understand her. It was alright, as long as he did what she told him to do.

To be honest, she wasn't completely understand her plan herself.

~*:*:*:*~

Cammie barely opened her eyes as she heard the door to her cell creaked. She was too tired to get up. She heard a pair of high heels approaching her, and she had no doubt that it was Catherine Goode. Another pair of heavier – a man's – footsteps trailed behind her, probably her goon.

"Make sure she's out for a long time. She had a long journey ahead of her," Catherine ordered.

That had been the last words she heard, before she felt a blow on the back of her head, and everything went black.

~*:*:*:*~

"You think she's okay?"

"She had a nasty concussion, and a lot of wounds. But I think, given time, she'll be okay."

She heard the voices, whispering, and she was immediately grateful for their low voices. Her head was pounding painfully, and she didn't doubt any loud noise wouldn't do any good to her headache.

Cammie groaned.

"Look! She's alive!"

She wanted to snap at the male for raising his voice in surprise. Her head felt as if it would split up in two.

"Yes, I see that. Now hush, Zach. She has a concussion. We should speak in low voices."

She loved the woman immediately.

"Sorry," Zach whispered.

She tried to open her eyes, and they felt as heavy as lead. After a few attempts, though, she finally felt her eyelids opened, and she was met more darkness.

"She's awake!" Zach's voice whispered again, but she couldn't see him.

Cammie blinked a few times groggily, trying to focus. Her eyes finally adjusted with the darkness of the room, and she could see two people kneeling in front of her.

"Who are you?" she croaked out.

The woman grinned warmly at her.

"Hey, cellmate."

~*:*:*:*~

**[AN : Yes, a Zammie meeting on the next chapter! Please tell me how you want their meeting to be!**

**Sorry for the late update. It's just I want to finish Roll of the Dice first before making this story, so… yeah. And it's been an extremely busy week, but I'll update as soon as I can. Hopefully at least once a week…. **

**As you can tell, everything from I'd Tell You I Love You, but Then I'd Have to Kill You to Only the Good Spy Young happened, with a twist. Zach's role was filled in by Josh. And yes, I make Josh as Zach's cousin.**

**It's harder than I thought, writing a 10-pages chapter. Frankly, my plans for this story are still very vague, so any ideas or requests or critique is very welcome. What do you want me to write?**

**Making Zach's personality for this story is really harder than I thought. I know he had a strong personality, but what I want to show is that no one can go through what he did without getting scarred. I want to make him look vulnerable, but strong in the same time if that makes any sense… Many stories picture Zach as the knight in shining armor. I just want to change that in mine, and so here it is…]**

~*:*:*:*~

**I'm going to do some Q&A, just to make this more fun. Okay, today's topic: What's your Top Zammie Moments? Mine are:**

**1. After Cammie had found her dad, and she had fallen asleep in Zach's arms. I love how she said she hadn't had a nightmare for the first time.**

**2. When Zach told Cammie that he knew she wasn't crazy. I totally agree with Ally there. So romantic!**

**3. In Rome, when Cammie had thought of it as a 'place where someone could go and fall in love', and then she thought that Zach was on the other side of the world. Hadn't she just admitted that she loved him?**

**4. After Cammie had killed the Circle agent, she and Zach had what I consider as their first proper conversation. I really like how she said she'll remember kissing Zach!**

**5. Everything that had happened in Blackthorne. Especially the kissing part and the part where Zach was ready to sacrifice himself so Cammie could be safe. How gallant.**

**6. When Zach had asked her to run away with him. Who doesn't love that part?**

**7. In Rome, Zach had yelled at her because she wanted to go into the bank. He really showed that he cared for her, and was worried about her safety.**

~*:*:*:*~

**Thank you for lizaluvsdoggies, mintchoc1, SimplyLove17, Dannhx, garnetsandpearls, jazzworkman16, ColleenPayneSwifiteDirection er, Serenaisbesterzq387, A Runner At Heart, Zammie169, WannabeGallagher, N0601859, butterfliesatmidnight1, Posideon, alondraasnts, love-to-read1911, Misschampcc, Nisa12, cutesy77, RosegirlPrincess, Rune Sparks, Glass and Papae, bubzchoc for following and favoriting this story! And thank you-s for S, Simply Love 17, garnetsandpearls, N0601859, TennisFreakLovesGaleAndHates MJ, love-to-read1911, Glass and Paper for reviewing!**

**Shoutouts:**

**Lizaluvsdoggies : Really, I've said it so many times before, but THANK YOU! Yeah, I took some points from OSOT, just like you pointed out, and the fact that she's senior. You always have amazing ideas, so any ideas for the plot?**

**ColleenPayneSwiftieDirection er : Not to sound so smug, but you said that already, and I'm really happy! Thank you a lot! (I feel like I've said that 1000 times already) Yes, Zammie drama and trouble is sure on the way ;)**

**Serenaisbesterzq387 : Thanks so much! I'm trying to update as soon as I can, but unfortunately school's already started, and this story has much longer chapters than Roll of the Dice, so I don't think I'll be able to update as frequently. But we'll see… **

**WannabeGallagher : Thank you. I'm honored that you decided to review my story :) I hope you'll like the whole Catherine-Cammie banter.**

**Posideon : Thank you! And, hey, you changed your avatar!**

**Cutesy77 : Thanks…. Well, your ideas are pretty spot-on… But I won't reveal the dramatic (hopefully) plot :)]**


	3. Chapter 3

**Escaping Reality**

**Chapter 3**

Zach opened his eyes drowsily.

He hadn't slept well at all. His back was killing him, and the nightmares were terrible. He guessed he was lucky he hadn't got night terrors. Yet, at the rate things were going, he wouldn't be surprised if he got one soon.

He wondered what had woken him up, and then he realized the familiar sound of the heavy metal door to his cell was being opened. He tried to sit, grimacing when he felt a burning pain on his back.

Mary was awake, as well. Seeing him struggling, she quickly approached him and helped him up without hurting him too much. He smiled gratefully at her. Mary was officially his personal savior.

The smiled melted right off his face as he saw who came in. His tormentors; Dillon, Grant, and Jonas. His eyes widened, as panic took over him. What had he done wrong?

However, the panic quickly subdued as he saw a small figure they were carrying. It was a girl, with dirty blonde hair. Zach was fairly certain that she was unconscious, and he was proved right when Dillon and his friends flung her into his cell, and closed the door, leaving Zach to blink a few times to adjust his eyes to the darkness.

Mary had already knelt in front of the girl, turning her over and settled her in a comfortable position. Zach warily watched her. He had a weird feeling. He didn't know what it was, but he knew that this girl worried him.

He studied her again. She was pretty, he'd give her that, but in her own way. Her dirty blonde hair was really dirty, and she was pale and covered in blood, bruises, and wounds. It wasn't hard to imagine what had happened to her, seeing as Zach himself often looked like that.

Mary looked up at Zach, and frowned as she took in his guarded expression. "Zach? What's wrong?"

He shook his head, yet his eyes didn't leave the girl's form. "I don't know. I just… I don't know."

Mary nodded sympathetically. "Look, I know it's hard for you to let someone in, and I don't blame you for that. It was normal to have your guard up, especially after all you've been through. But she's just a girl, Zach. She wouldn't hurt you."

Zach nodded, even though he was sure what Mary was saying was far from the reason of his wary. He wasn't afraid of her. Even though he knew he was weak, somehow he believed this girl wasn't one to hurt other people willingly.

She looked so innocent and fragile. He hadn't met anyone who looked like her.

Suddenly, realization struck him. He hadn't met anyone his own age here besides Dillon, Grant, and Jonas, and unnecessarily said, he didn't get along well with them. He figured that was why he was uncomfortable with the girl's presence. He just wasn't used to company, after years of confinement.

Yes, he was convinced that was the reason of this strange feeling.

"You think she's okay?" he asked in a low voice, concerned.

Mary replied in an equally low voice. "She had a nasty concussion, and a lot of wounds. But I think, given time, she'll be okay."

Satisfied, he went back to studying the girl. He saw movement. He saw her eyebrows creased to a frown, and he was pretty sure her eyelids twitch.

And then the anonymous girl groaned.

"Look! She's alive!" he exclaimed, surprised.

"Yes, I see that. Now hush, Zach. She has a concussion. We should speak in low voices." Mary chastised him.

Zach immediately lowered his voice, ashamed. "Sorry."

He saw the girl opened her eyes.

"She's awake!" Zach whispered.

Mary nodded, and moved to kneel in front of the girl. Zach followed suit. The girl blinked a few times groggily, trying to focus.

"Who are you?" she croaked out.

Mary grinned warmly at her. "Hey, cellmate."

~*:*:*:*~

Cammie blinked again, taking in her situation. She was in a dark room with a heavy metal door, and she was sure they had taken her to a new cell. She wrinkled her nose. The air smelled weird. Like the combination of blood, sweat, and alcohol.

She looked warily at the two people in front of her.

The woman was thin. Her clothes hung loosely on her. She has dark skin, with dirty, curly black hair that seriously needed a haircut. She had a big, brown eyes, which shone in a very motherly way. Cammie suddenly felt a lump in her throat, as she remembered her own mother, who had always looked at her like the woman did.

_How I missed my family…_

The boy beside her, which she assumed was 'Zach', was extremely different than the other boys she had met. She took in his dirty, skinny figure, the scars and bruises, and the dead look in his eyes. She knew instantly that he had been a prisoner for quite some time.

He had a dark brown hair, which was cut so unevenly it looked as if someone had hacked at it with a blunt knife. He had a nice tan, though how he got that, being locked up and all, was beyond her. And despite the dead look, his eyes were the most beautiful shade of green she had ever seen.

_It looks familiar…_

The woman continued to introduce themselves. "I'm Mary Santiago, and this is Zach Goode."

At that, Cammie's eyes widened in panic. "_Goode_?"

No wonder his eyes had looked so familiar. It was the exact same shade as _her_ eyes.

_Oh, God!_ Cammie mentally panicked. _He is _her son!

Zach's eyes turned hard instantly. "Don't. Just don't."

Cammie grimaced, biting back the comments she was about to make on his surname.

Mary put an arm on her shoulder, "Don't judge a book by its cover, dear. Or its author." She sent her a knowing look. "Anyway, we don't know your name."

Sitting up, she said carefully. "Cammie. Cameron Morgan."

She figured it would be useless to make up a cover. If Zach was really Catherine Goode's son, he would know who she was.

Yes, his eyes were the same as his mother's. Scratch what she had said about their color. She hated his eyes. But she didn't hate him, yet. She figured Mary was a nice person, and based on what she had said, Cammie was sure there was more to the story.

"Why are you here?" Mary asked.

Cammie hesitated. Sure, Mary looked like she's on the good side, but she defended the devil's son. What if she was faking? What if she actually work for the Circle? Cammie shot Zach a hesitant glance, and she quickly looked away as she saw his glare.

~*:*:*:*~

Zach hated judgmental people, so he hated Cammie Morgan straight away.

_Who does she think she is?_

She didn't know anything about him, didn't know the slightest bit of his gory past, and yet she'd instantly judged him because his mother was, well… _his mother._

He could see in her eyes, clear as day. She didn't trust him.

_Good_, he thought. _Feeling's mutual._

Still, curiosity got the better of him. He sat silently and listened to Cammie.

She hesitated for a while, before she started, "Well, it's a long story…"

"We've got time," Zach cut in.

She shot him a withering look. "Anyway, I live with my mom. She's the headmistress of my school. The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women."

Zach's eyes widened_. The Gallagher Academy_. He'd heard of it, sure. It was _her_ school. Supposedly, it was the place where she had learned all her horrendous skills. If Cammie was trained in the same place, could it mean she was just like her? Could it mean that this girl, who looked so damn innocent, was a crazy, abusive psychopath?

Even though he had never been properly trained, Zach was a pro at keeping his expression in check. So he was internally shuddering, imagining things Cammie could do, on the outside, he just raised an eyebrow and said, "Sounds mouthful."

She shot him another look. "It's an all-girls school…"

Again, he cut he cut her off. "Can you just skip the orientation tour?"

"Zach," Mary said sternly, warning him to shut up.

"What?" he said defensively. "It's kinda obvious. The name is blah-blah for _women_, for God's sake!"

"Look, do you want to hear my story or not?!" Cammie exclaimed, irritated. "I won't continue if you keep cutting me off!"

Zach pouted, but he remained silent.

Cammie glared at him, warning him to keep silent, then huffed. And so she continued.

"Well, we got town days, and one day, I met Josh. Joshua Abrams."

At that, he just couldn't help himself. "_Joshua Abrams_?" he blurted.

Even though she was obviously pissed that Zach had cut her off, _again_, curiosity got the better of her. She raised an eyebrow. "You know him?"

Under her piercing gaze, he shifted awkwardly. "Uh… maybe?"

Her eyes narrowed. "That sounds like a question. What's your connection to him?"

_What was his connection to Joshua Abrams? _"Uh…" _Well, see, he was the guy who tortures me every month._

Thankfully, his savior cut in. "Let's just say we all have seen him strutting around this place occasionally."

"Oh." Cammie's gaze relaxed. "Anyways, he was my boyfriend."

Zach gulped. She was Josh's _girlfriend_? It was official; he had to stay away from this crazy chick.

Mary was as surprised as him. "You're his _girlfriend_?"

"Was."

"Oh…" Mary looked a little relieved, and sympathetic. "What happened?"

"What do you think?" Cammie's voice was bitter. "He threw me in here."

Zach didn't know what to say at that. He didn't want to feel pity for her, and yet the unwelcome feeling was there. Yet at the same time, the devil in him couldn't help thinking, _serves you right! It's a very stupid mistake in your part, dating him, _trusting_ him! Shouldn't you know better than that?_

Mary quickly said, "I'm sorry."

Cammie sniffed, but then said, "Well, yeah. It was my fault. I shouldn't have trusted him. But…"

"Let me guess, you were so in love with him that you would do anything for him, or the other shitty cheesy lines?" Zach said scathingly.

"Zach! Don't be mean," Mary chastised him, in such a motherly way it almost made him smile.

Because she _was_ his mother, in a way that Catherine would never be.

~*:*:*:*~

_Ouch, his comment stung._

Cammie knew she was prejudiced. She knew that the very first reason why she didn't like Zach Goode was because of his mother. Even though she knew that, as a spy, she shouldn't judge him the moment she saw him (because every spy knew there was more than meet the eye), but she just couldn't help herself.

She disliked him.

Somehow, he had managed to make her dislike him even more, almost hating him. And she had only known him for about ten minutes!

"No," she snapped at him. "He had charisma. A certain charm that makes people drawn to him. Something you obviously don't have."

That bastard just laughed. At her.

_How dare he!_

"Really? I know for a fact that Joshua Abrams is anything but charismatic, and people said I was his complete opposite."

"Well, the people who said that obviously are Circle agents, a.k.a. _your mother's_ workers. I doubt they would dare to antagonize her by insulting her baby son!"

The look in his face when she said that told her that she had just made a huge mistake. His eyes darkened, almost black, and his expression turned stormy.

Cammie considered herself a good, brave person. But somehow, sitting there in front of Zach, she felt guilty for hurting his feelings. She felt _afraid_. Of him.

He let out a bleak laugh.

"Oh, sure. She'll go psycho on them if they _insulted_ me," he said, sarcasm dripping from his every syllables. Then he snapped. "You don't get it, do you? Are you that blind? Do I look like a boss' kid to you? Does it look like she gives a shit about me? Heck, she'll _reward_ them if they made my life a living hell!"

"Alright, that's enough," Mary cut in, her voice stern. "Zach, she doesn't understand. Don't take her words seriously. She's hurting, too. And Cammie," she turned to her. "You should know better than that. I know you're at least trained, and you should know better than to take out your grief and heartache on other people." Mary gave her a look. "Now, apologize."

She looked down, ashamed and angry. How dare Mary scolded her like that! Like she was a three-year-old kid rather than a seventeen-year-old spy-in-training. She was a big girl. Mary couldn't talk to her like that.

She had an urge to pout and said, "But he started it!", but she realized that if she did that, she would look exactly like a three-year-old.

So she took a deep breath, calming herself, and swallowed her pride. "I'm sorry, Zach."

He just nodded at her.

She knew, as well as he knew, that she wasn't the least bit remorseful, and he was still mad at her. But they acted along, because they didn't want to antagonize Mary.

Mary nodded, satisfied. "Okay. Now, let's get some sleep. We have to work tomorrow."

Zach sighed, and then moved to a corner of their cell, before he lay down, curling up to a ball.

I looked at Mary, dumbfounded. "Work?"

"Oh, yeah," Mary said nonchalantly. . "They make us work here. Apparently, this base is the Circle's main source of money. It produces coffee."

Cammie was sure she had heard her wrong. "_Coffee_?"

Mary chuckled. "I know. It's hard to believe that the Circle basically runs on a coffee business, but this _is_ Brazil," she said. "They have a quite big plantation here. They make us work every day, tending the plants, harvesting the coffee beans. It's harvesting season, so tomorrow they'll give each of us a big basket, and we'll have to run around, collecting the beans. We have to fill the basket until it's full, or else," she ended gravely.

Cammie could feel herself paled. She could imagine the meaning of the Circle's 'or else'. She could feel her wounds throbbed.

"Uh… what if we're… you know… wounded?" Cammie asked warily.

This time, Zach spoke up. "Don't worry about it. There's plenty of 'wounded' prisoners here, and we kinda have an unspoken rule. The… 'unwounded' ones will give a handful of beans to the 'wounded' ones. I mean, the baskets will be filled up soon enough if everyone was working together."

She was relieved at that, knowing at least she wouldn't have to face the Circle's punishments. Because she knew, in her condition, no matter how hard she forced herself, there was no way she would be able to fill up her basket. And yet, she was uncomfortable with the idea of letting someone else helping her.

Mary seemed to read her mind, because she said, "I know you're uncomfortable with the idea of being helped, but just look at it as a form of tolerance and teamwork. You'll have to help others too, as soon as you're fit enough. We all know life here is hard, and so nobody wants to make it any harder for anyone."

"Uh... that's okay. I think I can manage it," she said, trying to sound strong.

"Please," Zach scoffed. "You obviously fall under the 'wounded' category. Trust me, you'll never make it."

She glared at him. "You don't know what I'm capable of."

Was it just her imagination, or did Zach tensed at that?

~*:*:*:*~

_You don't know what I'm capable of._

Zach felt himself tensed, remembering his earlier thoughts about the similarity between Cammie and Catherine. But he quickly composed himself.

"Yeah, well, I know the size of the baskets," he retorted.

Mary quickly cut in, thus preventing the upcoming catfight between them. "Don't worry, Cammie. You won't be considered as weak or disabled. Everyone understands. And you're not the only one that gets help. Zach won't work, too."

He felt blood rushed to his face. "I'm fine!"

"No, you're not. I think we've agreed that you're not the one to judge your own strength." Mary said in a bored voice. They had this talk too many times already.

Zach flushed a deep red. He remembered the one time when he'd managed to overcome Mary's motherly overprotectiveness and made her agree to let him work normally. Needless to say, he successfully managed to exert himself, thus reopening his wounds. He had barely managed to fill in his basket, and when Mary saw him again, she had freaked out because he was covered in blood.

She had never let him work again after that. Not unless she was perfectly sure he was all healed up.

Not that Zach couldn't just ignore her, and stubbornly keep working, but the thing was, he knew she only wanted the best for him. And he respected her as his mother.

Mothers know best, like Mary often said.

_Most_ mothers know best, Zach would always correct her.

Cammie's voice pulled him out of his reverie. "Why won't you work?"

She had been simply curious, that was obvious. But she made it sounded as if he was a lazy, useless person.

For about twenty times that night, he restrained himself for strangling her.

"He's not well enough," said Mary curtly.

Cammie opened her mouth to say something, but apparently she thought better of it, and shut up.

_Good for her._

~*:*:*:*~

Mary sighed. She had expected that Zach would keep his walls up around Cammie. She had expected that Cammie, as any half decent spy would, wouldn't trust them immediately. She had expected that things would be tense for a while, before Zach and Cammie could trust the other.

What she _hadn't_ expected was for Zach and Cammie to hate each other's guts instantly. She could understand their opinions of one another, and yet she couldn't help but sigh mentally as she thought of their future.

In this hellhole, teamwork was essential. She didn't want them to keep hating each other. Even though she knew, given time, they might begin to tolerate each other, she couldn't help but feeling weary at the thought of her having to keep them from fighting.

That was one reason. Another reason was; she had an extremely keen motherly instincts. Her son, Jonathan, used to run around on his chubby 5-year-old legs, telling everyone that he had the 'best mama evew!'. And she was proud of that.

She had taken Zach under her wings, and she wanted to do the same for Cammie. If only she'd let her.

The thing was, like any mother, she didn't like it when her child fight. She may not know it, but from now on, Cammie was her child, too.

So she told them to sleep, helped each of them into a comfortable position (because she knew they must be hurting), caressed their hair, and told them goodnight.

"Cammie?" she whispered softly.

"Hmm?" came a murmured, sleepy response from her.

"Remember, don't steal any of the beans."

Mary could almost felt her smile. "Wouldn't dream of it."

And so she watched over them, like a firm mother bear who wouldn't let any harm come to her cubs.

~*:*:*:*~

**[AN : Yay! Finally a chapter! I'm so sorry it took so damn long, but I'm extra busy! In my school we'll have… let's say a faux National Exam, at least 6 times before the actual (most dreaded) National Exam come… for preparations, they say. Anyways, I'm super busy right now, and fanfiction isn't exactly on top of my to-do list. Sorry ;)**

**I'm planning to make 15-20 chapters, maybe more, depends on the scenes…. Each chapter about 10 pages long. The current plan is 15 chapters, but I'd love to make this story a bit longer, so please give me some ideas, maybe for filler chapters, or maybe plot ideas, etc… I'll be happy to use your ideas!**

**Reviews, please! I really hope this story will get many reviews! ;)]**

~*:*:*:*~

**Thanks a lot for all the last response on this Q&A! Because you're all so devilishly awesome, I'm going to continue it… this time, the question is… if you can go anywhere, which cities are you going to visit? My answer:**

**1. Paris, the city of love. **

**2. Rome, because I'm studying Italian, and because of that scene in Out of Sight, Out of Time.**

**3. Tokyo, because my aunt has visited Tokyo often, and she'll bring me GREEN TEA KIT-KAT!**

**4. New York, or any USA city, to be honest.**

**5. Los Angeles, because I want to meet Hollywood's stars.**

**6. London, because my sister is a big fan of 'I Love London'.**

**7. Moscow. Don't know why.**

~*:*:*:*~

**Thank you for purplebutterfly12, F0reverRand0m, SoSonia85, IsPy-PaNdAs, MaximumRide126, IamMe03, GallyGirl14, ilovemanga96, Beautifulgirl001, penpal98, I-Am-Nerd97, Gallagher girl1811, StandardAngelChild21 for following and favoriting this story! And thank you-s for An Avid Reader Forever, F0reverRand0m, IsPy-PaNdAs, , bubzchoc, mjs1196, gg4eva, the chameleon for reviewing!**

**Shoutouts:**

**Lizaluvsdoggies : I'm not gonna lie, but I honestly love all your ideas! Thanks so much for the extra-long review! I copy-pasted it to Ms. Word, and it's 2 pages! Thanks again! Yeah, you've pretty much guessed the main idea, but I really must thank you for some other ideas you gave me! I've planned the plot vaguely, but after I read your review, I quickly added many more scenes to my plan! All thanks to you! Thanks for your response on the whole Lizzie/Ellie thing, and my version of Zach :)… I totally forgot the whole walking together into the dining room… I love that part, too, and how Zach took some food for Cammie…so sweet! And you've made me agree with you on the whole 'Zach-knows-Cam-isn't-crazy' meant he was saying I love you in a sweeter way… WOW! I just fall in love with him all over again! Hehe…**

**Purplebutterfly12 : Thanks :) Nice profile picture, BTW… Do you have any ideas for the plot?**

**Posideon : I'm seriously flattered :) Thank you for saying I can spell… I got your annoyance when reading some stories with lots of misspelling or grammar mistakes, so I try not to do that :)**

**SoSonia85 : Thank you! I'm relieved to see that you like this version of Zach, since I know it's unusual for him to be helpless… He's usually the knight-in-shining-armor/perfect-guy kinda thing…**

**ColleenPayneeSwiftieDirectio ner : Thanks a lot :)! Yeah, I like that part too! It's so sweet… **

**TennisFreakLovesGaleAndHates MJ : Yeah, I want to include all the original characters for the series… How do you think about Dillon, Grant, and Jonas' appearance here?**

**Serenaisbezterzq387 : TOTALLY! I mean, it's hard enough to keep up with my school works… thing's getting even more busy now :(… and I really can't find some time to write fanfiction! Geez! I hate school!**

**Roxie Tina Ritchi : Haha.. I agree Zammie is just perfect! Well, I wanted a rough breakup for Cammie so she wouldn't trust any boy sometime soon (that's why she acted all distrusting in this chapter) if that makes any sense… YES! Jealous Zach is just CUTTEEEE! :)**

**N0601859 : Haha… Thanks… though I must admit the character's relationships are mostly messed up in this story ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Escaping Reality**

**Chapter 4**

**[AN : This chapter is dedicated for RosegirlPrincess. Thank you for your amazing ideas :)]**

**[And I've made a forum, it's called 'Gallagher Girls: Best Fanfiction Award 2012'. Please check it out, and participate! :)] **

Catherine was never a patient woman.

So, when she called, Josh figured he shouldn't be surprised when her first words to him was, "So? Did it work?"

That was it. No 'how are you', or even a 'hi'. Straight to the point.

"Really, Aunty? She had just arrived. We had put her in _his_ cell, but I figured she'd still be unconscious by now. They wouldn't have known each other well enough for your plan to work," Josh said, exasperated.

The whole point of moving Cammie to Brazil in the first place was so she met his pathetic excuse of a cousin and softened up to him, so he could torture him to get to her, or at least _intimidate_ her, so she would tell him the list of names. Plus, Josh would get an extra chance to beat Zach up.

Josh had always resented Zach. He had always been jealous that Catherine was Zach's mother, and never his. Since she took him under her wing, he'd noticed that Zach was always Catherine's favorite, and had he defied her so many times while Josh was obedient! It was so unfair!

He also couldn't believe that Zach would be so stupid that he would try to run away. Why would he run in the first place? Josh was enjoying his life. He couldn't imagine life to get any better than this. It was silly that Zach would try to leave this paradise behind.

Catherine's impatient voice snapped him out of his reverie. "Oh, they don't need to 'know each other well enough'! Just get on with it! I have a month to get the info out of her, or Samuel Winters will return and take over my job, kicking me back to America!"

"Don't you want to go back anyways?"

"Yes, but I won't have anyone take over my job! Plus, it's a perfect opportunity to get my revenge on Matthew Morgan, so there's no way I'm giving up!" she snapped.

Josh knew his aunt's history with Matthew Morgan. He was the CIA agent who killed her husband, long before Zach was born. She had to go through her hard pregnancy alone, with no support, and that had made her really bitter. He understood that Catherine would be satisfied if she could break his only daughter – regardless of the fact that it would be Josh who would do the actual job, Catherine would take the credit anyway.

"Aunty, I think it'll be better if she softened up to him. We can kill him –"

"No," Catherine cut him off. "You are not allowed to _kill_ _him_, Joshua. I want him to suffer as long as possible. You know that."

Josh sighed. He didn't believe Catherine's excuse for a second. He knew that deep down, she was still soft on her son. "Fine," he said curtly. "We can _bring him close to death_ to get to her. I know Cammie. She would do anything for the people she love, but not for herself"

"_Will_ she love him? I doubt that. He's so pathetic. Maybe you can get her to pity him instead," Catherine suggested.

"I'll do what I can. Don't worry, Aunty. I'll give them today, and then I'll give her the orientation tour. That'll get her pity, I'm sure of it. Even if our current plan fails," Josh smirked, "We can always go back to our original plan. Make an example out of him. We'll get to her."

"We better," she warned, then hung up.

~*:*:*:*~

Cammie woke before her cellmates did. She looked around groggily, taking in her surroundings.

_What time is it?_ She though drowsily, then panicked when she realized that her internal clock had run out of battery. _Okay. I'll go outside today. I'll be able to set it right once I see the sun._

Her dismay only grew when she also realized that she had forgotten to find ways to escape as soon as she woke up. She slipped, too caught up in her new cellmates, and she had forgotten her training.

_Mr. Solomon's gonna bite my head off,_ she thought gloomily. _Oh, well. Better make it up, now._

She took deep breaths, and looked around once more with a renewed focus.

_Notice things._

She noticed that the cell was about two and half meters wide, and it was a perfect square. _So it's approximately six-and-a-quarter meters square. Probably its maximum capacity is three to four prisoners._

She noticed that there were no windows, no toilets, and only one door. She scooted closer, examining it. She noticed that the door was made of heavy metal. She tapped her fingers on it, and decided that it was at least 10 centimeters wide. Possibly soundproof.

And absolutely drill-proof.

Cammie sighed in exasperation. Her only ideas to break down the door was either to use explosives – which, she reckoned, would be hard to get – or to use acid – another hard-to-get material.

She moved on to the wall, tapping it. It was made of rocks. Also very thick, and soundproof. So breaking through the wall was every bit as hard as breaking through the door.

She sighed again. After a few more minutes of thorough examination, she sat back with a frustrated sigh. She had many ideas on how to break out of this cell, but none of them are dependable enough, or even remotely realistic enough for her to execute.

She glanced again at Mary and Zach. She noticed that neither of them looked peaceful. Mary's expression was blank, while Zach looked troubled.

She frowned.

People always said that a person was most relaxed when they were sleeping. And yet the two people in front of her were anything but relaxed. She wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that they were prisoners, and wondered idly if one day, like them, she wouldn't be able to feel peaceful again.

No. She shook herself. She was going to get out of this place. Why was she thinking of these things? Was she giving up? No. Way. In. Hell. Cammie Morgan doesn't give up. Ever. She was going to figure out a way out of her situation, like always.

Mary started to stir, and Cammie warily watched her. She didn't trust her new cellmates just yet. She had learned her lesson when one of the people she trusted most in the world sold her out. She wasn't going to be such a blindingly trusting girl anymore.

Mary yawned, and looked up at her. She smiled knowingly. "Anything?"

Somehow, Cammie knew what she was asking about. She shrugged.

Mary chuckled. "Forget it, girl. Now, I know it's bad for a spy to give up, but I've checked every inch of this cell, and it's impossible to breach. I don't know what kind of ideas running through your little head right now, but I'm telling you, whatever it is, it's not going to work."

Cammie's anger rose. "How do you know? Have you ever tried to escape?"

Mary shrugged. "Nope. But Zach had."

"_Zach?"_ Cammie asked, incredulous. Why would he try to escape? This was practically his mother's agency, for crying out loud!

Her thoughts must've shown in her face, because Mary chuckled. "I know you don't believe it, but you really should lay off of him. He's a really good kid. It's not his fault he had a monster for a mother."

"Yeah, she really is a monster," Cammie commented. "And you're right. She is his _mother_. How do we know if he's anything like her?"

"He's not. Trust me on this one. He's _nothing_ like her."

"You can't tell how she'd brought him up. For all I know, he could've been brought up to be a killing machine since he was two."

Mary's eyes flashed, but otherwise her expression didn't betray anything. "Yes, there's no way we know how he was brought up. But I've been with him long enough to know _his_ character, and I've tailed Catherine long enough to know _her_ character. They may have some similarities, but blood lust or psycho mind aren't a trait they shared."

That piqued Cammie's interest. "How long have you been here?"

"Nine months."

_Nine months? And she hadn't tried to escape? _she thought, incredulous.

Mary's eyes were hard. "No. I hadn't"

"Did I say that out loud?"

The older woman nodded. "They haven't give you the… ah… _orientation_… have they?"

Cammie's eyebrows shot up. "What orientation?"

Mary sighed. "Figures. You'll see. Your darling boyfriend always make sure every… newbies… went through an orientation tour. I bet he'd love to give one to you."

Mary's words chilled her to the bone. Did that mean they were going to torture her some more? Cammie was about to ask, but then Zach stirred.

Cammie watched him yawned and stretched like a cat, wincing. She watched him rolled over, and carefully – _too_ carefully, sat up. _Is he wounded?_ she wondered.

"Right on time," Mary commented.

"Morning," Zach said groggily, rubbing his eyes.

Cammie shot her a questioning look. "Right on time? For what?"

"Well, I've told you yesterday, they made us work in a plantation every day, from 10 to 6. They'll come to our cells at 9.30 sharp. If we're not awake when they come, well… they'll wake us."

Cammie frowned she could tell that they weren't going to like _how_ the Circle bullies woke them up. "O-kay. So I guess they'll be here soon?"

"In about 2 minutes, if my calculations are correct. And they usually are."

Zach groaned again. "Great. Another day of work."

Cammie ignored him. _2 minutes. And they come at 9.30, so now is 9.28. _She smiled inwardly. She knew it didn't really matter, but she felt better once she was able to set her internal clock back on track. Maybe it was because it made her felt like an operative, not a prisoner. A proof that she was still using her training.

~*:*:*:*~

When the guards came, Mary and Zach got up obediently. Cammie was more reluctant, but she figured it wouldn't do her any good if she tried to fight them now. Even if she managed to win, she had no escape route. She would bide her time, learning all she can about this prison, brew a plan, and _then_ she'll escape.

A part of her knew that she probably wouldn't have to do that. She knew her family and friends would have known that she was missing. After all, Josh had destroyed the trackers they'd brought with them when they left. They would be searching for her, and nobody, _nobody_, could beat her little Lizzie at tracking and hacking into databases.

She pictured them. Liz would be sitting in front of her three laptops, fingers flying on the keyboards, turning back and forth to work on the laptops. Her hair would be pulled in a messy bun, so it wouldn't distract her. Her tiny face would be scrunched up in concentration, determination oozing out of her. She _would_ find her.

Standing behind her would be Macey. Her sharp blue eyes would be scanning whatever cameras' surveillances Liz had managed to hack into, searching for anyone who looked like her. Macey's long, shiny, black hair would be pulled in a ponytail, what she had once described as 'the perfect, yet simple style to work'. Cammie thought Macey could style her hair in any style, yet she would still looked so gorgeous. Heck, maybe she could be bald and still pulled the look off.

And Bex would be in the P&E barn, punching the lights out of whoever unfortunate enough to spar with her. She would be frustrated, and she'd tried to channel her frustration in perfect Wendelsky Maneuvers or some other kick-ass techniques she'd mastered.

She felt her throat closed up. How she'd missed them. Her best friends, her _sisters_. Her perfect back-up system. They'd always supported her, helping her in every way they can. Liz used to help her in her lessons, Bex would give her tips in P&E, and Macey would be her personal boy-dictionary for… _Josh_.

Thinking about her _ex_ made her blood boiled. She was sure if she didn't get her feelings under control, she would lose it. Soon.

Thankfully distraction came as Joe Solomon's voice in her head, _Notice things. _She'd have time for a teary trip down memory lane later. Now, when they were guiding her and her cellmates through corridor after corridor full of cells, she had to pay attention.

People were being herded out, and she soon found herself caught up in the stream of people, all moving in the same direction. Cammie kept Mary and Zach in her line of vision as she memorized the way and observed her surroundings.

She saw guards standing in every 3 meters interval, all wearing white uniforms and holding a riffle. She was sure they had a whole arsenal tucked away in their bulky uniform. She noticed that every prisoner, except her, was wearing thin short-sleeved shirts and pants. There was no way she could hide _anything_ in that clothes.

The corridors was bright white, contrast to the dark cells. Everything was painted white, it was freaky.

Basically, the Circle is a crazy, freaky organization.

~*:*:*:*~

After breakfast in a big dining hall (she was given a disgusting grey glob, but Mary made her eat it), Cammie was herded to the plantation. Mary was right. It was huge, and full of coffee trees.

She saw that everyone lined up, and the guards gave them woven baskets. It was thirty centimeters in diameter, and about forty-five centimeters high. Zach was right. For collecting small coffee beans, it was a big basket. She wouldn't survive on her own.

So she didn't protest as Mary took hers and Zach's, and told Zach to 'get her to the usual spot'.

Zach motioned her to follow him, and he led her to a tree – not coffee tree, but some kind of big tree with wide canopy, providing them cool shades to protect them from the burning tropical sun.

They settled under the tree. Cammie noticed how Zach moved carefully. She frowned. Yes, he was obviously wounded, but her wounds were much worse, she'd wager. Her legs had ached just from walking the short distance between the cell, the dining hall, and the plantation. She fully blamed that on Josh.

She sat down carefully, too. Making sure she didn't stretched any of her healing wounds.

"Brazil doesn't have four seasons, you know. It's always either hot and humid, or rainy," Zach stated casually, obviously trying to start a conversation.

Cammie resisted the urge to roll her eyes and told him that she _did_ know. She was a Gallagher Girl, for crying out loud! She had aced her latest COW exam. _Of course_ she knew!

But she just raised an eyebrow and said, "Really? Are we going to talk about the weather? Talk about cliché."

Zach raised an eyebrow. "Well, what else are we going to talk about? You want to get all serious?"

Cammie returned his look levelly. "How long have you been here?"

"So we're playing interrogation games now?" Zach asked, avoiding her question.

"As a matter of fact, yes. I need as much information as I need to get out of here."

Zach shot her a look. "And I'm the source of information. Figures. Tell you what," he leaned back, head resting on the tree trunk, "you're wasting your time. No one can escape."

Cammie scoffed. "Of course you'll tell me that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Are you kidding me?" Cammie snapped. "Mary had told me you're nothing like your mother, but I don't buy it. Of course you wouldn't want anyone to escape your mother's precious clutches!"

"Will you stop making assumptions about me?" he snapped back. "You get it all wrong. I bet there's no one else who hates _her_ more than I do."

"Oh, really? Prove it, then," she challenged. "Tell me, what makes you hate her so much?"

Zach glared at her. "Fine," he snapped. "You want the whole sob story? I never have a family. I'm the only kid, I don't know my dad, and my mom never gives a shit about me! She never considered me as her _son_, she looked at me as her _pawn_, or even her slave! A mindless machine who come at her call, who always do whatever she want me to do! But guess what? I'm never an obedient son, so she tried to brainwash me! She kept me on a very short leash, and beat the crap out of me _every single day_! I was never allowed to go out of the house! I have no friends, no one to talk to except her goons, who always try to coax me to be the 'ideal son'.

"Since I was 3, my cousin – your precious Josh – came and lived with us, so she made him as an example. She wanted me to be just like him. Which means she wanted me to worship the ground she was walking on, because that's how much of a control freak she is! She always rewarded him, and punished me. Then one day, she made me _kill_ someone! I can't take it anymore, so I left. And when I get caught, she tortured me! She threw me here, and so now I'm stuck here with people like you, who always judge me by my last name, and never bothered to at least _try_ to know me!"

When he finished his fiery speech, Zach was breathing heavily. His face was flushed and his eyes were bright with anger.

Cammie was still skeptical, but she started to feel guilty. She could tell that Zach wasn't lying or making up stories. It was the truth.

The boy sighed, suddenly tired. "Whatever. If you don't believe me, I don't care. It's not like I know you."

Cammie was silent for a moment, but when she started talking, her voice was softer. "Maybe we can get to know each other. I mean, you know my story, and I know yours… can we at least… try to cooperate?"

Zach snorted. "I won't help you escape. Go ahead and try it yourself. You won't succeed anyway, and I won't be your accomplice."

She was pissed. Why did he have to be such a pessimistic? Sure, he'd tried and failed, but that didn't mean he had to be such a jerk about it. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm just saying; do we want to fight, or just ignore each other? I think it will make our time here better if we do neither."

He shrugged. "Fine. I won't fight you, _if_ you tell me, what makes you any different from _her_?"

Cammie had no doubt what he meant, so she was taken aback. "What do you mean? Of course I'm nothing like Catherine!"

Zach looked away. "Well, you're a _Gallagher Girl_."

He said the word as if it was the dirtiest insult he could think of.

"Yes," Cammie said, confused but offended. "So?"

"So that means you're trained in the same place as her. Aren't all Gallagher Girls sisters or something?"

That wasn't his point, but Cammie get it. "You think I'm trained the same way as her?"

He nodded.

Cammie was angry, but she could see his point. "Zach, no offense, but your mother is a crazy psychopath..."

"None taken. It's a fact anyway."

She continued as if she hadn't heard him. "And the rest of us Gallagher Girls are perfectly sane people, thank you very much. So she's one of a kind. A traitor. We're nothing like her. We aren't trained to torture or kill people; we're trained to _save lives_. To make this world a better place, as clichéd as it sounds."

She gave him a hard look, and he stared right back at her. Somehow, through the one look, they both reached an unspoken agreement. They acknowledged the fact that they were both _nothing_ like Catherine Goode, despite their relation to her, and they wouldn't suggest otherwise anymore.

They both could see that the other was still skeptical and suspicious, but at least they would act civil around each other. They had no intention to be anything to the other but cellmates, because both were the kind of person who had been so betrayed that they had built a high wall around themselves, and wouldn't let anyone climb over it, much less destroy their walls.

~*:*:*:*~

Macey looked around the room. They had taken temporary residence in a hotel in Rome, and they had transformed one of its rooms into their headquarters. For finding Cammie.

When Abby sent her the message, she'd immediately prepared her private jet, and when the crew was ready, they'd fly off to Rome.

In the cozy plane, Mr. Solomon had told them what happened. That on July 4th, Cammie and Josh's trackers suddenly disappeared. Since then, there had been no word from either of them. Everyone had assumed the worst, that the Circle had taken them both.

Since then everyone had worked restlessly. Liz had hacked into 2,613 different cameras placed in Rome, hoping to find a glimpse of Cammie. The problem is, they had no way of knowing whether or not Cammie was wearing a disguise. So far, they only got 4 surveillance videos showing Cammie or Josh. But they were both trained operatives, so none of the videos showed anything important. None of them had any clues about what had happened to Macey's sister and her boyfriend.

_Josh had better took care of her, or I'll personally kill him_, she thought.

She was all alone in the room. Liz was sleeping in the room the girls shared. Bex, Abby, and Mr. Solomon was scouting the city, trying to find any clue. Mrs. Morgan was getting something to eat.

Macey stretched, and went back to the laptops. Suddenly, something caught her eye. The familiar dirty blonde haired girl and blonde boy. She zoomed the window without any interest. The footage probably wouldn't show her anything important, like the others.

But suddenly her eyes flew wide in disbelief. "Oh. My. God."

Macey quickly grabbed her phone, and called for an emergency meeting.

~*:*:*:*~

**[AN : Can anyone tell me what is a Beta, and how does it work?**

**I know you're all probably bored with this, but I'M SO SORRY I haven't updated in forever! I went to China for Christmas break, and I didn't bring my laptop with me. And when I got back, I've been so busy! I'm going to move, and I really need time packing all my things!**

**So, Zach and Cammie finally started to talk. Do you think I should continue their conversation, or just get on with the plot for the next chapter?**

**I'm honestly thankful that this story had gotten so many enthusiastic readers! I try to give shoutouts to all reviews, but some of them just don't give me a chance to say anything other than just a BIG 'thank you'. So I'm sorry that I can't give all of you shoutouts…**

**Reviews are a FF writer's only reward, so please review :) ]**

~*:*:*:*~

**Wow, it's really amazing how so many people want to go to Rome, Italy. Myself is one of them :). This chapter's Q&A: What's your dream pet? Mine:**

**1. Horses. My childhood dream: TO HAVE MY OWN RANCH!**

**2. Siberian Husky.**

**3. Hunting falcon. I guess I'm a very classic girl...**

**4. Rabbits. Even though I've killed the last ones I had...**

**5. Dolphins. I've swum with them once, and I'll never forget the experience!**

**6. Any kind of cute and loyal dogs.**

**7. Cats? Maybe. It's a strictly last-resort plan, though. I'm more of a dog person.**

~*:*:*:*~

**Special thanks for :**

**Goode-Lover, **

**Plain-Is-Prettiest, **

**Haldog, and**

**Ellenaby,**

**for following and favoriting me, and this story. Thank you for:**

**XxNeonShadowsxX, **

**BellaGoode, **

**BlueHeelsKill, **

**Zach-Goode' , **

**Bookluver132, **

**bubblegum04, **

**Lizaluvsdoggies, **

**Tauntingly Haunted, **

**oxoxGallagherGirloxox, **

** , **

**Batgirl 42, **

**Styleluv25,**

**flipstar1, **

**PrincesssMoi, **

**Uknowniloveu, **

**nira avalon, **

**Spakhl, **

**jetaime808,**

**for following and favoriting this story! And big thank you-s to:**

**WannabeGallagher, **

**JessGoodeFan, **

**bubzchoc for reviewing!**

**Shoutouts:**

**Let's Live While We're Young : Thank you for that. I'm really flattered :)… **

**Lizaluvsdoggies : Haha… what I meant with the whole 'I'm not gonna lie, but…' thing is that I honestly like your ideas. I don't consider myself as one for fake pleasantries, but your ideas are just… WOW! You're so creative, and I really like long reviews ;)... and you've guessed this chapter's plot! I have outlined this plot before I update Chapter 3, and when I saw your review, I thought, 'Wow, she's a really good mind-reader!' Hehe… Thanks for the idea of the whole 'respect each other thing'… I'm going to use it, hopefully in the next chapter… love & hugs for you, too :)**

**Bubblegum04 : Haha, I'd like to visit Italy, too :)… Yup, you're right, they're arguing. Thank you for pointing out that 'Cammie should be nicer, and Zach a less guarded' thing. I've tried to do as you said, but I'm going to take it slow before Cammie becomes nice and for Zach to let his guard down… Thanks for your review!**

**Bookluver132 : Well, Zammie moments might need to wait, for… IDK… a looong time, maybe, seeing as they're taking it so slow… haha… But I'll try to add a bit Zammie soon. I've got this little scene planned as I read your review, but IDK how/when I can actually write it in a chapter…**

**BellaGoode : Thank you, especially for reviewing EVERY chapter! To be honest, I hadn't thought much about the man Zach shot. I've always written the whole plot for a story before I actually started writing it. The plot is written in bulleted points, and for that particular thing, I had only wrote 'Z shot someone'. So, I hadn't made it a specific someone. Just anyone. But, when I read your review, and re-read Chapter 1, I realized it was a pretty good idea. I might actually make the man as Matthew. Seeing as he had blue eyes, I can make it Cammie's eyes… So thank you so much for giving me that idea. The thing is, do you think that the whole 'Zach was the one who killed Matthew' thing was overused? Please tell me what you honestly think? I don't want to write something too common, but is it a good point? And WOW, you live in LONDON?**

**Kylie : (insert the green monster here) A cruise to Europe? You're so lucky! I've always wanted to go all around Europe, visiting all the places you've mentioned… it's just WOW! Well, happy travelling! **

**ColleenPayneSwiftieDirection er : You guessed right. Yes, the whole 'Zach felt weird' thing was meant to mean that he was feeling **_**something**_** for Cammie. But I like the 'loving would kill them both thing'… I hope you wouldn't mind if I used that in later chapters :) Thanks again!**

**Posideon : Wow, I hadn't realized that their distrust was like in the books… :) Thanks for the review!**

**Zach-Goode' : You REALLY, REALLY, REALLY admire the Gallagher Girls, don't you? LOL, I would LOVE to meet Zach's douple-ganger, wherever it is. And, even though I believe it is otherwise, I would like to check if there's ANY spy school, anywhere in this world… and enroll there! **

**BlueHeelsKill : Awww… Really? Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!**

**SimplyLove17 : Thank you for your sympathies for the Exam. It really sucks, having to study :(… I'll admit I hadn't thought of the things you said, so thank you for informing me! Why I made Cammie so unguarded, is simply because of my egoistical needs to explain her history without too much monologue… I hadn't considered that it showed a lapse in her character, and I'm sorry for that. Yes, I'll try to make sure she's the amazing spy she is, and not just a normal girl. Thank you also for pointing out that Cammie should remember her training… I've forgotten that, too :(… I had a mixed opinion on the whole Mary thing… On one side, I just love her, but on the other hand, I realized you're right. She IS babying them. For Cammie, I know it was a mistake. As I've said, her character – that is supposed to be strong – hadn't been showed in the last chapter. You're right, she should be more mature. But for Zach… I pictured him as an abused kid who desperately needs a little kindness in his life, so I made him a little… clingy, to Mary. I didn't think he should be too mature, seeing as his dark past had left him no room to grow. Overall, I'm really grateful that you've reminded me of so many things. I'll try to pay attention in details from now…**

**Plain-Is-Prettiest : Really? I'm glad you think so. I was inspired by many fanfiction stories I've read, and the Hunger Games trilogy, actually. I just try to write my own version of things… Thanks so much! Especially for saying that this is original! That really made my day :)**

**An Avid Reader Forever : Here it is, the scene where they started to talk :)**

**RosegirlPrincess : Thank you, I'm really flattered when I read your review. But most of all, thank you for all your ideas. I still can't decide which one I'm going to use. Probably a mix of all of them… I'll try my best to develop their characters along the way, but I'm taking it slow. Thank you for your praise on my writing. It really means a lot to me, because (I've said this many times already) English isn't my mother language. I see you're interested in history, and culture. I'm interested in Greek, Roman, and Egyptian myths about gods, too! Where in Australia do you live, then? And, it's hard to believe that you stay up so late in school days. Even in weekends, I usually sleep at 10, max. So this is a basically a thank-you shoutout. :) Thank you so much! Happy writing to you, too :).**

**Serenaisbesterzq387 : YES! I mean, what's the point in learning history? I'm a big believer of 'leave the past behind' thing. Get on with your life! I don't mind Math, even though I have headaches whenever I have a Math test, but it's still okay. :)**

**Tauntingly Haunted : Agreed. I really don't like rushed relationships. My favorite kind is the one when they build it slowly, or if they're already together.**

**EscapingToTheBooks : Thank you. I don't really get what you mean with never read the Captivated Series before, but it's purely mine… I'm planning to make this story a series (3 books, if everything goes according to my plan)… :)]**


	5. Chapter 5

**Escaping Reality**

**Chapter 5**

**[AN : This chapter is dedicated to Posideon, my super awesome Beta. You rock, girl!]**

"No. No way, Mace…"

Liz kept chanting the words over and over again, hoping that if she said that enough times, the words would come true. After all, hadn't she done a thorough background check on Josh? And she found that his records were clean. No shady dealing, no wet work job, no nothing. She'd proved that Josh was on their side.

And Liz Sutton is _never_ wrong.

However, the world seemed to suddenly forget its fixed path and tumbled through the outer space, because Liz could swear her world just turned upside down.

"Lizzie…" Macey sighed.

Liz knew what she would say: they had concrete evidence. The surveillance video had caught Josh red-handed. They had all the proof they needed.

Josh Abrams was the traitor.

Liz remembered how, in their junior year, the girls had suspected that they had a traitor amongst them. Then, when everyone had pointed their fingers at Joe Solomon – who she and her roommates knew for a fact was innocent – they had suspected that it was just a misunderstanding. They thought everyone else just _thought_ they had a traitor. That it was just a false alarm. They believed they were safe. That there was no way anyone in their close circle would betray them.

It was a naïve thought, they knew, and a spy can never be too careful. So when Edward Townsend came along, he instantly made their suspect list. Liz remembered how they had spiked his morning apple, and made him told them the truth. He'd told them he was innocent. And Liz was 100% sure Townsend was telling the truth. After all, she had invented the truth serum herself.

Once again left with no suspects, Liz had made the conclusion that the Circle's tendency to show up whenever they were outside the protective walls of Gallagher was simply due to the organization's relentless surveillance on their activities. She believed that theory. After all, the Circle had eyes and ears everywhere.

Not to mention, that theory was more likely than the one she was trying hard to understand.

Josh betrayed them.

Somehow, her mind couldn't input the data.

Josh was so kind, so gentle, so… _loving_, towards Cammie. How could all that been just an act?

"Liz, we have to act professional. Just accept the fact. We've got work to do," Abby stated.

~*:*:*:*~

When they were walking towards their cells after dinner, Grant and Dillon approached Cammie, Zach, and Mary. Seeing Josh's goons, Zach tensed. However, today, their instruction wasn't to beat Zach up. No, they were there for another reason.

"Well, well, lookie here…" Dillon sneered. "How's it going, snob?"

Cammie's eyes narrowed. She'd hated Dillon's guts since day one. And apparently, the feeling was mutual.

"Dillon," she sighed. "I suppose I'm not surprised to see you here. You too, Grant."

It made sense that if Josh was a Circle member, so would his best friends be too. After all, Josh, Grant, Jonas, and Dillon were kind of a package deal. She had rarely seen them separated.

Grant smiled. Cammie remembered how Bex had once described Grant's smile as 'a bloody hot, to-die-for, Greek god smile'. However, with her newfound animosity towards Josh's best friends, instead of swooning – even though Bex had called dibs on Grant, no girl would deny his hotness – she had to resist the urge to punch the smile right off his face.

"Well, Cams," Grant started. "I can say the same about you."

Cammie snorted. "Of course. I suppose you're gonna tell me you've been working for my downfall since a long time ago."

"As a matter of fact, I have," Grant smiled, snaking his muscular arms around her waist.

She slapped his arm off and jerked away.

"Now, now, snob," Dillon's voice was sickly sweet. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Either way, you're coming with us."

Cammie internally grimaced. She had thought Grant had tried to molest her. Guess she misunderstood their intentions. She feigned innocence. "Really? Why didn't you just say so?"

Grant's eyebrows raised in disbelief. "You're doing this the easy way?"

After all, he'd known how stubborn Cammie was.

Cammie smiled. "Well, easy is relative."

With that, she lashed out. She punched Grant in the face, and roundhouse kicked Dillon in the stomach. She allowed herself a grin when Dillon staggered back, cursing and gripping his stomach. On the corner of her eye, she saw Zach watched with wide eyes.

"Cammie, no!" Mary yelled.

Cammie ignored her.

Grant was quick to retaliate, though. He swung a well-aimed punch to her face, and Cammie staggered a little. Damn, that guy was strong! Before Grant could do anything more, Mary grabbed Cammie from behind, restraining her. She struggled in her grip, but surprisingly, Mary was too strong for her.

"Cammie! Stop it, they'll punish you!"

As Cammie kept struggling, Mary tightened her grip on her. Cammie was her child now and she wouldn't let Cammie do something as stupid as this. Mary only let go when Grant ripped Cammie from her grip.

~*:*:*:*~

"Are you sure? No way at all?" Rachel asked.

Liz shook her head. "They're too good. The trackers were crushed. We can't track them anymore. The footage just showed Josh and 6 guys in black. They wore ski caps. We can only identify them based on gender, approximate height, and weight. That's an impossible feat! I can input those data in any database, and we'll get about 10 billion results! As for Josh, I'd hacked his database, and…"

"Okay! We get it! You can't track them," Bex said. "Breathe, Liz."

Liz took a deep breath.

Suddenly, her phone rang. She recognized the ringtone immediately. It was the one she set for her family. She muttered an excuse, grabbed her phone, and darted out.

"Hello?" she said, breathless.

"Liz?"

It was Ellie.

"Ellie! Why are you calling?"

"Liz!" Ellie exclaimed. "Guess what?"

Liz smiled inwardly. There's a 0.0000000014% chance of someone giving the correct answer to that question. Trust her. She had made her research. But she answered anyway.

"The kitchen burnt down again? I swear, last time I baked, it was a week ago. So it's not my fault."

Ellie laughed her tinkling laugh. God, she missed her. "No! Today, we received a guest!"

Liz's heart suddenly pounded. "Cammie?"

"No."

At that, her shoulders sagged. "Oh."

"Why would she visit? Isn't she with you?" Ellie asked innocently.

Liz face-palmed herself. She forgot that her family didn't have a clue about the problem she was facing. As far as they concerned, she was joining a summer camp held by Gallagher with her best friends – for extra credit, of course.

Sometimes, she really envied Cammie or Bex. It must be nice not having to lie to your family about everything. It must be nice to be able to have your family's support and guidance.

"No. She doesn't join the summer camp."

"Oh? Anyway, those MIB came for me!"

Liz furrowed her eyebrows. MIB? Isn't that a Will Smith's film about aliens and such? Then it dawned on her. The Gallagher Academy crew had visited her sister. Ellie, little, innocent Ellie, will be a Gallagher Girl. If she chose to.

"Uh… and what did they say?" Liz asked tentatively.

"They asked me to enroll!" Ellie screeched.

Liz was torn. If Ellie enrolled, she'd have a family member on her side. The one she didn't have to lie to. The one who was in on the secret. On the other hand, Ellie was much too sweet to live this life of secrets and lies. She'd wanted to protect her baby sister from the horrors of the spy life.

She used to think that enrolling in Gallagher was the best thing that's ever happened to her. Now that she was a senior, and had at least get the main idea of 'spy life', she wasn't so sure. She'd often wondered what would happen if she wasn't 'the next Einstein'. Would she be able to lead a happy, _safe_, normal life?

But then again, it wasn't her decision to make. Ellie was free to do as she liked. After all, once she'd made it into Mrs. Morgan's office, and get the unabridged version of the school, she could warn Ellie about the risks. And if Ellie wanted to back out, she can always drink the memory-eraser tea. And she was obviously happy with this. After all, Gallagher _is_ the best school in the world.

"Mmm… I'm happy for you, Ellie."

Ellie laughed again. "They say I have to come on August 1st, for orientation and such. I can't wait! Your stories are so amazing! I feel like I've known how to be a Gallagher Girl already!"

Liz laughed. "You still have much to learn, Ellie."

"I think I'll manage," came her smug reply.

"Hmm… how's Mom and Dad?"

"Oh, they're happy for me, too. You know they're so proud of you when those MIB came. So imagine how they feel when MIB came again! They're about to explode!"

Liz laughed again. Her typical parents. But everyone knew it was impossible to enroll into Gallagher, except if you have 'connections' or 'special skills'. So it was a great achievements for the Sutton sisters.

"When will you come home? We're going to celebrate, and I want to celebrate it with you, too…"

There was an innocent longing in Ellie's tone, and Liz found herself tearing up. After all, she didn't know when she would come home. Of course, she wouldn't abandon the search for Cammie, but she wanted to spend time with her family so badly.

"I don't know, Ellie. As soon as the camp's done."

"Oh," Ellie said, disappointed. "Well, please come back soon. We rarely get to spend time together anymore."

"I will. Bye, Ellie. Congrats."

"Okay. See you soon!"

Liz clicked the 'end call' button. She leaned back against the wall, sighing.

She missed her family. So much. Especially her little sister. She'd sacrificed her time with them to find Cammie. Don't get her wrong, Liz loves Cammie.

But now, with no lead at all, with her hope almost gone, with her head pounding from all the progress they'd made so far – which is to say, nothing – Liz couldn't help herself.

She wished she was with her family.

_But Cammie _is_ my family, too._

~*:*:*:*~

"I knew it," Cammie spat at her. "I knew you couldn't be trusted."

She glared at the woman as Grant pulled her hands behind her back. But Mary was shaking her head. "Don't fight them, Cammie. It will only make things worse."

"Yeah. Don't fight us, Cammie," Grant mimicked her.

Dillon laughed as he dragged her away. Doubt and suspicions gnawing at her. Which side is Mary on? From her expression and warning, she looked and sounded like she cared about Cammie's wellbeing. But she was a spy. And spies lie.

And then there's Zach. After his outburst, they'd been quiet. It was awkward, because even though she could sympathize with him, she still couldn't trust him. And she knew that he felt the same way towards her. So other than a few forced conversations here and there, they'd been pretty much ignoring each other.

She knew she should've asked him questions about this prison. She should gather as much information as she can to get out. But she didn't ask him that. Mostly due to the fact that she felt so uneasy around him. According to Mary, he'd been here longer than her, so Zach should have more information about this place. But she felt more comfortable around Mary – or, as comfortable as you can be around someone you didn't trusted – and so she decided to try gathering information from her first. Also, Mary is a seasoned operative, while Zach was… well, he was just a kid. Just like herself, and she knew she still needed adult guidance, so Mary should be able to give her a more professional insight.

Grant and Dillon dragged her through the throng of people, down the hall she'd just passed, pass the dining hall, and into another white corridor she'd never seen. She instantly took notes of her surroundings. But before long, her journey had ended.

The boys pushed her to a soundproofed room and tied her to a chair. Then, they finally left her alone.

Cammie glanced around while trying to undo the knots. There were no windows in this room, only the padded walls you could find in a room with good sound system. There was a big flat-screen TV in front of her, and a complete set of sound system. To her relief, the room clearly wasn't a torture chamber, but she couldn't help worrying. Something was not right.

The door slammed open, and her heart stopped.

Josh strolled in, looking like he owned the place. She couldn't help but notice how hot he looked in all black. The outfit made his blond hair… _blonder_, and his blue eyes bluer, if that was even possible.

This wasn't good. At all. Cammie was a sucker for Josh's crystal blue eyes, and he knew it. He knew that she thought of his eyes as 'the hottest pair of eyes ever'. And as he turned the full force of hotness onto her, she had to struggle to stop herself from staring like an idiot.

But her breaking heart throbbed, and she was pulled back into reality.

"Hey, Cams," Josh grinned.

She used to swoon whenever he flashed her that panty-dropping grin, but right then she just wanted to punch his lights out. So she didn't answer.

"Ooh. The silent treatment," the jerk laughed. "Real mature, Cam."

She still kept her mouth shut.

Josh shrugged. "Oh well. It's not like I need you to talk. Now, please let me do my job and welcome you to the Brazil Branch, blah blah blah. Honestly, you don't need to hear all that crap, but Aunt Catherine insisted we 'follow protocol'… but you know I follow my own rules," he winked at her.

Oh. My. God.

The bastard had the nerve to _flirt_ with her! After all the trouble he'd put her through! She had to remind herself that she was ignoring him to restrain herself from blurting a sarcastic remark. It would give him a satisfaction, and she didn't want that to happen.

"No remark?" he teased, then shrugged. "Oh, well. Keep your mouth shut, Cam. It's better that way, believe me."

Somehow, his words made her heart pound frantically in my chest. Cammie could only imagine one meaning behind his words. Whatever torture he'd planned, it would cause her to scream.

Josh turned away from her and started towards the TV, and fiddled with something she couldn't see. She figured he was going to make her watch some videos. But she couldn't imagine what kind of video would make her scream. Unless it was a torture video of some kind. Maybe it was some kind of fabricated video of her friends and family being beaten, because she knew for a fact that they were safe.

Still, she felt sick just by thinking about it. Even though she knew it wasn't real, she knew she would still feel horrible about it. She remembered her first mission, back when she was a sophomore.

Mr. Solomon had assigned Bex, Liz, and her to tail Mr. Smith and found out what he was drinking. Bex and Liz were compromised, but she made it just fine. Of course, it was when she'd first met Josh, and she'd fallen for him instantly. But afterwards, when she'd gotten back to Gallagher Academy, Mr. Solomon had debriefed her. In that briefing, he'd shown her edited pictures of beaten Bex and Liz.

Her heart ached again, for so many reasons. Just thinking about Bex, Liz, Mr. Solomon, and Mr. Smith made her felt overwhelming homesickness. Also, she'd started to wander what would happen if she hadn't met Josh that day. Would things be different now? Or was she and Josh destined to meet, it doesn't matter when, but they'd meet eventually, and the Circle would eventually got her?

She quickly stopped her thoughts. _Focus, Cammie_, she reprimanded herself. _A spy doesn't think about useless 'what ifs'. Focus on the task on hand, and right now, you need prepare yourself for whatever's coming next, then you have to make a flawless escape plan!_

Josh straightened up and turned back to her, that infuriating smile still intact on his face.

"Now, I suggest you sit tight and watch, Cam. Oh, wait," he chuckled. "You don't have a choice."

She listened while he laughed at his own joke. _Very funny,_ she thought sarcastically.

Josh grinned, and pressed a button to turn on the TV.

"Enjoy the show!" he said cheerfully.

Cammie didn't really have a choice but to sit and watch the video. The opening was some kind of introduction with a boring male voice as the narrator, about the Circle of Cavan and its founder, the infamous Ioseph Cavan. She stifled a yawn.

_Is this going to be a History of Espionage class?_

Secretly, she was also glad. She could watch a boring history video with no problem. At least it wasn't a torture video.

The video played on, and she learned about the Circle's current state. There was a documentary about the Brazil base. But there wasn't anything she could use to help her escape. If anything, it made her felt slightly hopeless. The footage showed her a flawless security system, with absolutely no chink in the armor.

Then her stomach tightened as the next topic came up: Catherine Goode. The narrator gave her a basic background on her, but there was also nothing she didn't already know. She zoned out for a moment.

An involuntary gasp finally escaped her lips as the video told her about Zach. The narrator told her that he was Catherine's pride and joy, her golden boy. That he was trained to be the best Circle agent ever.

"That bastard," Josh muttered behind her. "I really _hate_ this part."

Cammie's eyes narrowed. It was obvious that he envied Zach. She thought Josh was being silly about it. No one on their right mind would want to be called 'the best terrorist ever'. Even Zach seemed to despise the title. But then again, Josh was never on his right mind.

She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed his insanity earlier. But he was a spy, and spies lie. All the time.

The video captured her interest when the narrator said something about traitors. The background changed from pictures of Catherine and Zach to an empty room. A torture chamber.

_So it _is_ a torture video after all_, she thought, trying to remain calm.

The door opened, and two big guys in all black dragged in a small figure, followed by Catherine. Cammie frowned. The prisoner's figure was too small to be a grown man. Maybe it was a boy.

_Zach? _She guessed. Could this be _his_ torture video? It seemed like the most likely explanation. She didn't know any other boy in this prison.

She squinted as the men tied the prisoner to a chair in the middle of the room. When they stepped back, the boy raised his head, and she saw familiar green eyes and dark brown hair.

She gasped again. It was Zach, all right, but he looked so… young. From his childish features, she guessed he was about 9 or 10.

She felt completely sick. How could Catherine do this to a small boy? That woman was completely psycho.

She felt even sicker as Catherine and her goons started their torture session. They beat him, cut him with various weapons, whipped him, and injected him with unknown chemicals. The worst part was probably when they electrocuted his small body. His bloodcurdling screams filled the room, raising goose bumps on her arms. She watched helplessly as his body jerked around, before he sagged against the ropes binding him to the chair.

_He was just a child!_ She wanted to scream at Catherine. _How could you do this to a child? Your own child?_

But she realized that it was stupid to scream at a video, so she kept silent.

She wanted to turn away, but somehow, she couldn't. She watched, completely horrified, as the video dragged on.

~*:*:*:*~

**[AN : Yes, Dillon, Grant, and Jonas is Josh's goons…**

**I particularly like the scene with Ellie. I simply adore her! I really like writing Liz-Ellie scenes. It's a nice change from writing Zach-Cammie's POV :). And thing's started to get tense…**

**Another SO SORRY for not updating in a while… it's been months! I'm just so busy with school and all, and 24 hours a day is just not enough to study, do chores, and write. This is just a filler, so you'll still remember this story… Not to worry. My final exam is in mid-April, so after that you can expect a much faster updates! Pinky promise ;)]**

~*:*:*:*~

**Special thanks for :**

**Gallaghergirl1897,**

**Ailes Du Neige,**

**SomewhereElse31,**

**thechameleon.x**

**for following and favoriting me, and this story. Thank you for:**

**TheGirlUDon'tKnow,**

** ,**

**lovelikeallhopeislost,**

**Rosey 3425,**

**jetaime808,**

**terrificgirl2815,**

**lonelyxstar,**

**Mythomagic-Champion,**

**SoccerGrl14,**

**Whistling in the dark,**

**Madirosee,**

**KVeyne,**

**Alcoholic,**

**BooksRBiffles,**

**Beatbuyredd**

**for following and favoriting this story! And big thank you-s to:**

**Uknowniloveu**

**TheGirlUDon'tKnow**

**Ailes Du Neige**

**Tauntingly Haunted**

**bubzchoc**

**for reviewing!**

**Shoutouts:**

**XxNeonShadowsxX : As far as I know, that story had been removed, because it wasn't actually a story, so… yeah. What's an AU?**

**Annie : Oh, please do! I still need TONS of ideas! Because frankly, my plotline is very vague, and I'd love to fill the blanks with your ideas :)**

**Bubblegum04 : Yup, you guessed right. Macey saw Josh attack Cammie… Yes, Zammie had started talking, but I'm taking their relationship extra slowly… because, given their pasts, I think it would be normal for them to be a little… hesitant :)**

**Cassia Goode : Sorry, I didn't continue their conversation… Don't worry, more Zammie bonding moments will come. This IS a Zammie story, but I'm just making them go slowly…**

**An Avid Reader Forever : thank you… I think they will definitely start to like each other… eventually ;)**

**Zach-Goode' : Really? It's a shame. I mean, if she looks like Catherine, and if she had a son who looks (and acts) like Zach… OMG! *insert dreamy face here* I'm going to go get him right away! Looks like Catherine? Well, what does she look like? **

**Music-is-mai-life : thank you. I'm really happy when you say this is a very original story… That means a lot to me :)**

**Gg : Well, I guess you know now what Macey see ;)**

**BellaGoode : Well, do you think I should use it? Any wow, I envy you… There's nothing interesting in my hometown, except that it's dirty, and has TONS of traffic jams. You wouldn't believe how long it takes for you to travel around in Jakarta… :( And yeah, you're right. They finally realize that Josh is a backstabbing liar… (sorry if you like him, but to me he's annoying… I love Zach so much more :))**

**Plain-Is-Prettiest : I think this is a faster update :) Thank you for the review!**

**Serenaisbesterzq : Now you see what Macey finds :) LOL… yes, I really get the whole hate-history thing :) Speaking of, my annoying teacher will give us an exam on my birthday! She totally ruined my special day! :(**

**Forever Siriusly Sirius : LOL. I love Sirius Black, too… I'm angry at JK Rowling for killing him! Yeah, Zach's slightly OOC… I imagine he would be like an abuse victim, because I think he was too young when Catherine did all those things to him. So I guess he's a little… off. But I realize you're right. He shouldn't just let it all out to a stranger… I'll try to make him more mysterious next time… the thing is, I'm not sure what kind of secrets he should be hiding, what stories about his life, because I don't think he have a life, if you get what I mean… You really are a mind reader! Yes, Macey saw Josh take Cammie, but I hadn't thought about the background-check thing, so that first part is all yours :) Thank you for your explanation about the whole Beta thing… I followed your advice, as you can see ;) LOL, I'm a city girl, too, so I don't think my dream pets are going to come true ;) As always, thank you for the long review! You're always my favorite reviewer, because you review every small parts on each chapter :) So thank you very much**

**Thechameleon.x : Thank you… Yeah, I don't like such stories, too… it seems so weird and hurried, you know? And thank you… I'm really happy when you say this is original :) you really flattered me… Really? It's believable? Frankly, when I re-read my stories, I found a lot of holes… a lot of things that made me think 'I should've write this', or 'that part sounds weird'… but I decided not to edit any posted chapters, because if I do, I will always editing and never write the next chapter! And yes, I planned this to be a series… 3 books, if everything goes according to plan…**

**EscapingToTheBooks : Haha… Well, I have problems with my wi-fi, too! Somehow, the connection was so poor! Damn slow internet connection!**

**SimplyLove17 : Yup, you guessed right. Macey saw Josh working as a COC member…I'm so glad you get it! I try, but I think I made many slips with the characters…**

**ColleenPayneSwiftieDirection er : Well, I don't plan on much Zammie until later chapters… I'm really taking it slow… When I'm using your concept, I'll dedicate the chapter to you ;)]**


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